3 Biology -- Plant Hormones

Describe the structure and mode of action of cytokinins.

Describe the structure and mode of action of cytokinins.


                

Kinetin                                                          zeatin 

Structure:- Cytokinins are basic in nature. They are either aminopurine or phenyl urea derivatives. They include kinetin and zeatin. They are found in coconut milk, corn endosperm and pears.

Mode of action in cytokinin

1. Control of Transcription and Translation:- It influence nucleic acid metabolism and also helps in transcription and translation. 

2. Enzymes and Metabolism:- It increases the activity of respiration as an enzyme. Cytokinin induces the formation of tyramine methyltransferase which catalyses thiamine synthesis. It may be substituted for Glyceric acid in the induction of α-amylase in wheat seeds.

3. The Richmond-Lang Effect:- It suggested that cytokinins play an active role in senescence retardation in detached leaves. The mechanism is based on the postponement of the disappearance of chlorophyll and the degradation of proteins through the activity of the corresponding hydrolases which normally accompany the senescence process. The primary function of cytokinin in this respect is to increase the amino acid accumulation and to increase or retain the protein content.

4. Identification of Cytokinin Receptors:- It contains intracellular receptors which receives information. The receptors are present in cytoplasmic cytokinin-binding sites.

5.Role of Calcium as a Second Messenger in Cytokinin Signal Transduction:- Calcium acts as a second messenger in many signal transduction pathways in plants and animals. It acts through the regulatory protein, calmodulin (CaM), having four high affinity calcium binding sites.Calmodulin itself is inactive as a regulator, but the CaM-Ca complex can bind and activate several enzymes designated CaM-regulated protein kinases. Another group of protein kinases known as Calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs) have calmodulin as an integral part of their structure and their activity is influenced by calcium binding.

6. Cytokinin and Auxin Regulate Plant Cell Cycle:- Both auxin and cytokinins are involved in the regulation of cell cycle by controlling the activity of cyclin-dependent kinases.




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